


Love in Rewind

by veracruz175



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Affairs, Aurors, Extramarital Affairs, F/M, Falling In Love, Forgotten Ones, Friendship, Hogwarts, London, Love, Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Original Character(s), Sex, True Love, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2020-10-29 21:09:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20803028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veracruz175/pseuds/veracruz175
Summary: Alice Prewett and Lucius Malfoy had been an unseperable couple during their Hogwarts years, until Lucius turned out to be a Death Eater. However, Alice was never going to be able to kick him out of her life as she was pregnant with his baby unbeknownst to Lucius. She avoided him for years, until one day both she and her son had to encounter him. Now, she wasn't going to be able to run away from him anymore, neither she'd want to run away from him anymore...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work here, I hope you all enjoy it. :)

It was a bright June in London in contrary to its infamous gray weather. Everybody was in good spirits that day in June but especially Arthur Weasley and his sister-in-law Alice Prewett. Both have been working in Ministry of Magic for long years - Arthur almost ten years longer than Alice - and finally tonight, at the reception given by the ministry they were going to be rewarded for their hard work. Alice was a member of the Auror Office. She was considered as one of the best aurors of her age. On the other hand her brother-in-law was the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Even though, this office was considered as unimportant and low class by many snobbish wizards and witches Arthur put a lot of effort in it and tonight he was going to be chosen as 'The Most Devoted Employee of the Year'. 

Alice, on the other hand, was going to be awarded as 'The Most Valuable Employee of the Year' because of her immense contribution to stop crime in magical world. Thus, she and her son Damian were getting ready wearing their fanciest dresses and robes they have at their house in western London. 

"Well, Miss Prewett, you deserve the best of everything obviously," said Damian "and as your only and _dearest_ son, I thought I could get the best of gifts for you." he was holding a wrapped box in his hands and passed it to her mother.

"Damian..."

"C'mon mum, just open it. It'll look great on you tonight." 

She unwrapped the box and opened it carefully. It was a ruby necklace in the shape of a lotus flower.

"It's beautiful, my darling." she was so touched by her son's gift and she was also proud of him, it wasn't easy nowadays to raise such a thoughtful young man. 

"As I said, you deserve the best of everything."

"I already have the best son a mother can have, nothing more is required." she hugged her son. 

She put the ruby necklace on, matching her silk scarlet dress. After hours of preparation, they were ready. She even had a speech prepared for the night. They were going to meet the Weasleys in the ballroom, they were seated together of course, along with their guests Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood. It was no question that Damian had feelings for Luna, so, he invited her for the night as his dame. 

The room had an extremely high ceiling and it was decorated with candles, just like the Great Hall in Hogwarts. The walls were brown, there were many circular tables around the dance floor. An orchestra was playing classical music, people from ministry and members of aristocracy were greeting each other; some with fake smiles and some with non at all. Her sister and her family weren't there yet so Alice decided to head to their table with her son, greeting some of her colleagues on the way. 

"Alice!" a familiar voice called to her. She followed it and turned around to answer the call. Her face went completely pale after seeing the owner of the voice. She was completely frozen and couldn't say anything, burying few seconds in silence. 

"Lucius." she managed to say, as low as possible. "Didn't expect to see you here tonight." 

The man looked in her eyes as if he wanted to read her soul through her dark brown eyes. "Well, I was personally invited by Mr. Fudge," he took a break "it'd be rude to reject his invitation.". Then his eyes slipped to the boy standing next to her. He had pale blonde hair with light blue eyes. He was quite tall and had smokey looks which charmed most of the girls around him. "And this young gentleman is?"

"My son..." she replied, scared of Lucius understanding that her son was actually _their _son. He didn't look like her at all; he got his eyes, hair, looks from his father. Something she both loved an hated because every time she looked at him, she remembered the man she loved; the father of her child. 

Lucius' eyes opened widely as she replied. His suspicion was obvious. "I didn't know you were married." 

"I wasn't." 

"Who's the father?" 

She could feel cold sweat running down her forehead. "You wouldn't know."

Then all that there was silence. Damian was aware that there was something weird but he didn't wish to interrupt. He wasn't even formally introduced to this man yet, even though he and her mum had been talking for some minutes. Then a young man and a woman approached.

"Prewett!" called the boy who had the same blonde hair.

"Malfoy." Damian replied.

They were Draco and Narcissa, son and wife of Lucius. One could tell the difference in Narcissa's looks the moment she saw Alice. 

"Alice." she greeted her. 

"Narcissa."

"Can't say it is a pleasure to be seen with you Prewett." Draco exclaimed "People might think that... that I am associating with blood traitors."

Damian giggled. "No wonder you looked uncomfortable mum. I didn't know we were having the honour to speak with Mr. Malfoy." Lucius didn't say anything. He was trying to comprehend. He knew that it was almost a hundred percent possible for this young man to be his son. Alice was his first and last love. Despite his father's protests they had long lasting relationship during their youth, until he became a Death Eater and Alice, an auror who was supposed to hunt them down. Especially after deaths of Alice's brothers Gideon and Fabian it was impossible for them to be together. Hence, she didn't mention Lucius anything about her pregnancy, neither before the war started nor afterwards. She couldn't find the courage to tell her son that his father was a Death Eater, even though her feelings for Lucius never faded. She instead told him that his father was a war hero, making up a name, and he died before they could get married so he had to take her surname. 

"Mum?" Narcissa seemed to be disturbed. She also felt that there was something odd with the boy. She could see his similarity with her son and her husband. Plus, she had always been scared of Alice's existence. Many nights when her husband was drunk, he whispered her ear 'Alice' while they were in bed. And now this boy? If he actually was Lucius' son, he would be a problem. Draco would have to share Malfoy inheritance with him or worse she could have been thrown aside with Lucius' feelings for Alice were rekindled. She was even suspicious that if they needed to be rekindled.

"Yes, my son: Damien."

"Nice to meet you, _Damien_." Lucius offered his hand for him to shake. 

"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Malfoy."

Lucius looked deeper at the boy, he was dying to speak privately to Alice about it. He was trying to contact her for years. But every time he tried to visit her at her office, he was either told that she is busy or she wasn't there. She insisted on sending her gifts every Christmas, Easter, New Year and Valentine's Day; non of them replied, most of them returned. It was impossible to find her address because of high secrecy due to her being an auror yet here they were standing in a ballroom, with a boy next to her, he thought to be his own. And the woman he loved was as beautiful as the days they had been together.

Alice was trying to find a way to escape this conversation and awkward moment of silence. Then Weasleys made an entrance to the ballroom and her face was suddenly enlightened.

"Oh! My sister and her family are here! We better get going, love. Have a good evening." she grabbed Damien's arm and drove him towards the Weasleys. Luna, Harry and Hermione were also with them.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"The awkward conversation with Draco's father."

"Nothing baby. I just haven't seen him and his family for a long while."

"Whatever."

She hugged Molly tightly. She and her sister looked very different from each other. Unlike Molly's chubby and short structure, Alice was fit and rather tall. She was fancier compared to her sister. But they had an unbreakable bond and loved each other more than anything in the world. She considered her nephews and niece as her own children and care for them as much as she cared for Damien. She knew that Arthur was earning just enough to feed his family so she was always there to provide them with whatever they asked for. Her son was the same age as Fred and George and were closest with them. One would expect him to be more serious but whenever he was around the twins he'd also turn into a prankster and a trouble maker. 

They made their way to their table. Alice could feel Lucius' eyes gazing at her and tried her best to not to respond to his looks. After all he was a married man now and she could never forget the things he had done in the past. Moreover, with Cedric Diggory dead this year during the tournament and the Dark Lord back as Harry claimed, she didn't have the luxury to associate with him. No matter how much she actually longed for it and how she wanted to tell him that Damien was their son. 

The night passed quickly and awards were given. But she couldn't enjoy it as much as she expected because of her encounter with Lucius. One of the people who knew about the truth, Molly, was also aware of what was going on. "Why does he even make you stressful? He is just a memory of past. Don't let him ruin your present" she told her. But it wasn't that simple. She loved him, so much. How could she just ignore his existence? She managed to do it escaping from it for the last seventeen years but it was hard to handle it now after seeing him with her son and spending whole night in the same ballroom. 

They were having a dinner almost as good as the feasts served in Hogwarts. Even while eating many wizards and witches were trying to show off with their manners which reminded Alice of her dinner with Lucius' parents at the Malfoy Manor. While they were still together, they agreed to meet her once for the sake of her blood line purity even though most pure-blood wizard families regarded Prewetts and Weasleys as blood traitors and her sister was married to Arthur Weasley for some years already. Both his parents were ice cold to her and all night they had spoken of their disapproval for Muggle-borns and those who associate with them. It was hard time for Alice since her best friend Lily Evans was a Muggle-born and her ideas on blood purity were completely different than theirs. However, she endured it that night for the sake of Lucius and did her best to avoid a scene with her beloved's parents. But no matter what she did, in the end they weren't able to have a happy end together. She could never forget Lucius for his loyalty for the dark side and for the fact that he made a 'proper' pure-blood marriage with Narcissa Black just to gain the approval of his family and community. Thinking of all these she felt dizzy for a moment and had an urge to go to bathroom to refreshen herself. It felt like she was sweating cold since her encounter with Lucius and his _family_.

She was happy to be out of the ballroom, at the silent corridor. But it didn't last long. Someone grabbed her wrist. She turned and saw the face she had been longing for years. 

"Let me go." she tried to escape his grasp, even though she wasn't actually willing for it.

"Alice, wait!" he was breathing fast "We have to talk. I have tried to contact you for all these years. Now, I have a chance to speak with you. Don't just let it slip."

"Yes and there was a reason why you couldn't: because I didn't want to have anything to do with you," she was trembling "How dare you, Lucius? How dare you? After all that happened, after all we had been through and all crimes you committed, which you managed to get away with of course, how dare you speak to me?"

"You know very well that what happened had nothing to do with our relationship. I would never harm you or anybody close to you. I loved you Alice, and god knows I still do!"

She tried to ignore his confession of love but it broke her heart. "Nothing to do with us? Your _friends_ killed my brothers Lucius. Your Lord killed my best friend and her husband. Their son, who is sitting at my table inside, was left an orphan; never having an opportunity to know them..." she wanted to tell him so much that their son had to grow up fatherless but she could never. "Then, you just settled back in your manor with your wife and son, as if nothing had happened!"

"I just fought for what I believed in, like you did." he was approaching her slowly "Is that what you blame me for? Then, do it. You are a talented pure-blood witch Alice! You could be with me, you could fight on our side instead of your mudblood friends and blood traitor family." 

"Don't you dare call them those!" she pointed her index finger to his face. He grabbed her hand and then her waist, pulling her towards him. She was trying to fight but it was impossible, she could smell his amazing perfume and feel the heat of his body on hers. Their eyes were locked together and next his lips were melting on hers. It was as if they haven't been separate all those years, as if all was forgotten. Alice couldn't even find the will to not respond to his kiss. She was hugging him tighter as he was biting her lips, leading his tongue in her mouth; both were burning in desire. It felt like forever. Moans were escaping her throat with every touch of his, she could feel his hardness leaning on her body. Then they pulled back for a moment both panting. She pulled herself together and escaped his hold.

"This shouldn't have happened. Ever."

"Yes, but it did." he grabbed her arm again. "Now, please tell me, who is the father of your boy?"

"I told you already, you wouldn't know him."

"Truly? How old is he? He doesn't seem much younger than Draco."

"He's... he's a year older." she confessed.

Lucius took a deep breath. "He's _our_ son isn't he?"

"He's _my _son!" she exclaimed.

"Really? No idea you could produce a child on your own. That's exactly the time we were last together Alice." she didn't respond. "I am not even going to mention how similar is his physical appearance to me." he was right in everything you said. 

"Is this the place to talk about it?" 

"I guess it is now. If you were kind enough to consider my efforts for us to meet and let me know about your pregnancy then it would be different." 

It would be different. She thought of this for hours, days, weeks, months, years. She imagined her son growing up with his father, herself married to the man she loved. But it was too late even to think about this. 

"How could I make my son know that his father is a Death Eater?"

"He would be thinking differently of many things if I could contribute to his upbringing."

"Maybe that's another reason why I have never told you."

"We have to meet." said Lucius "I really wish to talk to you and you should agree that I deserve this much at least."

Alice hesitated but she didn't think that she could say no. "Alright. Meet me at Rosa Lee Teabag in Diagon Alley, this Thursday."

"As you wish." he kissed her hand and head back to the ballroom. 

When Alice went back to the ballroom, everybody was curious where she had been. Of course she couldn't tell anybody about how she and Lucius shared a passionate kiss like in the old days, how it was revealed that Damien was his son and their plans for meeting. So, the only thing she could tell was that it took a lot of time for her to find the bathroom despite Molly's suspicious looks. Her sister caught Lucius getting inside just few minutes before her and she was afraid that two of them were going to start an affair, unable to resist the attraction between them. She was sure that her sister would marry him if it weren't for him being a Death Eater, Voldemort's second in command. What happened to Lily Potter and their brothers made things even worse, without a doubt. 

Alice could still feel Lucius' gaze on her and this time she wasn't able hold herself looking at him either. He was dashing in his first quality robes and his facial structure was flawless. She tasted his lips back in that hallway and now she was in need of them again. It wasn't enough to close the gap of all those long years. However, even though she has never liked Narcissa, she felt bad for her. She was married to a man who was never truly in love with her and always had to be in a relationship in which fear of Alice haunted her. Her son wasn't even her husband's first born and if the things were settled he would probably be the one to inherit the manor and most of the fortune. The boy looked like Lucius even more than Draco, despite Alice's darker looks. She could understand her and know she contributed to her pain by reappearing in her husband's life. But, what could she do? This wasn't something she asked for. For years she just stayed away from them and did whatever she could to hide her son's parentage. Though it was obvious that it'd be exposed one day and now that Lucius being aware of it, she very well knew that he'd want to see and talk with the boy. She had no clue how she was going to explain the situation to Damien; that Lucius was her father and Draco was his half brother -who he despised obviously-.


	2. Meeting of Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice and Lucius meet to have a conversation on what to do about their son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I am sorry for not updating for a while. It really was busy for me and now I finally have the time to focus on my works. I hope everybody will enjoy it and I will try to update as much as I can from now on. Enjoy reading!
> 
> Recommended soundtrack: Unrequited Love - Ari Posner  
This is a soundtrack from one of my favourite series Anne With An E :)

She grew more tense with every step she took to the tea shop. She had an urge to go but she was hesitant also. It felt like she was turning into a huge ball of nerves. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to be with him and that she shouldn’t even have been going to meet him at that moment but still, she couldn’t keep herself from dressing ever so elegantly and adorning herself with plain but stylish jewellery. She wanted him to be impressed by her looks just as he was before. Just as he was in the night of the ball. Moreover, she knew that he was going to be like a lord from a sixteenth century play also. She wanted to match his elevated style.

When she got there, she stopped in front of the door for a moment. She considered her decision one more time and eventually she calmly opened the door. As she expected he was already there, leaving her startled like in the ball night. As soon as he realized her walking towards him, Lucius couldn’t keep his coolness and stood up, locking his eyes on her. This made her even more stressed but she had to cope up with it and hide her emotions as much as possible. She held her hand out to him.

“I thought I’d have a hug at least.” he took her hand in his tightly.

“Lucius, please. That’s not the reason why I am here. You know that there can be nothing between you and I.”

“There cannot be only if you don’t want to my dearest.”

She was feeling blood rushing up to her brain and her white cheeks turning into red. She knew that he was feeling the same. How couldn’t he? He had a son with the love of his life whom he didn’t know about until now. Despite his usual attitude this time he didn’t try to hide anything. He didn’t try to hide much when they were together before also. He was sincere to her. It took a while back then also but it was earned and it was preserved even at this moment apparently.

“So… can we please come to the point. I really don’t know what to say right now. It has been so long.”

“I know, must be hard for you after doing your best to avoid me for all these years.”

“Lucius, I told you why. Please. It had to be done. I couldn’t raise my child around your circle.”

“But it is okay to raise him around Arthur Weasley, isn’t it?” both of them were getting tense but she was almost happy that they were sharing a moment full of emotions. It didn’t matter what the emotion was but just that they were able to share their feelings with each other. Even that was so special and something she had been longing for all these years they have been apart. Before she could spread her lips to object him the waiter came. They gave their orders and it was just the two of them again.

“My brother-in-law is a good man who doesn’t care about lives of others and who doesn’t judge them depending on their heritage. Just how everyone should be. We had this talk before, too. So please, do not let me repeat the same stuff over and over again.”

Lucius took a deep breath. He didn’t want to argue with her. He knew that their beliefs were poles apart but he loved her. He loved who she was, the way she laughed, smiled, talked, made sentences, her expressions. “Okay. I don’t wish to argue either. It is so wonderful to sit in front of you and spend time together after so long. And to be honest, the fact that we have a child together is so heart-warming. I want to be a part of this life.”

She felt sorry for him. Not that everyone would know it but she knew that he would be a great father and she was sure that he was to Draco. She took his hand in hers to his surprise. “Lucius, I know you’d be great father and you care for him now, even though you do not know him. But I… I don’t know if this would be the right thing to do. I kept this from him for so long and I don’t know how he would react when he learns who his father his. I do not want to break his heart. He has already been through so much. It isn’t easy to be a young boy without a father and people making fun of you for having your mother’s surname –“

“This is what I am talking about! This can be changed. I can change it. He can take my surname, we can get married finally and live together as a family as we have always dreamt like.”

He was vocalizing her dreams but it was still startling to hear these from his voice. “What are you saying? You are married to someone else, you have another son. This would be a scandal. Do you think that this would make everything okay for Damien? Haven’t you seen their relationship with Draco? This would make everything even more complicated than it is now.”

“It will for a while but everything will change, it will become better. Who cares what others say? Many things have been tried to pitch into my family but they can never tarnish our name. These things shouldn’t be a reason to worry.”

She pulled her hands back. “You don’t understand, do you? This isn’t about _Malfoy name._ This is about how my boy is going to feel. I don’t want him to be exposed to any more bullying and if you are still the same, if your ideas are still backwards and discriminative I do not want you around him. You haven’t been his father by now. It won’t change anything from now on.”

Sadness was written on his face. She almost regretted the things she said but what else could she say? Everything was hard enough already. She raised Damien all alone, herself, all these years. She suffered and he suffered but she never thought of reaching to Lucius for help. Even though his words were warming her heart and making butterflies in her stomach she couldn’t find the courage or the sense to say yes to him. She was sure that they were going to be married one day, in the past. She even thought of how to decorate the Malfoy Manor to rid it from its dark atmosphere and turn it into a place where one could think at first sight ‘what a happy family is living here’. But now? While another woman, while Narcissa Malfoy was calling it her home, it wouldn’t be possible.

“How could you say that to me? But I know that what you say isn’t what you want. I spent enough time with you at least to know that. And if I know you at all I swear in the name of Merlin that you still are in love with me, as much as I am with you. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here now. You wouldn’t kiss me back at the ball. You kept me away from yourself enough but no more. You can keep me away neither from you nor from _our _son.”

She had no words to say. Not about this at least. Tears were gathering to her eyes, she tried to keep them there but it wasn’t possible. A drop escaped and met Lucius’ finger.

“It is okay, my love. It will be alright, we’ll go through it together.”

She felt her whole world burning down to ashes. “How could you do that Lucius? We had a perfect relationship. We loved each other, you proposed me and gave me the whole universe but then you took everything back. At least you could have told me yourself what you were up to. Then I knew that I was pregnant but I couldn’t tell you, I was supposed to be happy but I just felt so lonely and desperate. My sister and everyone else were there for me but you… I just wanted you! I just wanted to be with my love, the father of my child but you made it impossible. How could you become my enemy! How could you place us to different sides of this war!”

“You know that wasn’t what I meant and if I knew that you were pregnant I would do my best for you and our child!”

“Oh really? How were you supposed to leave you master? Would he just let you go? Don’t I remember how eager and ambitious you were about everything back then? When we argued about this how you advocated everything to me and calling my family blood-traitors? And then you married Narcissa Black! What a mockery! It was as if you were taking revenge on me!”

“I didn’t mean to marry Narcissa. It was my father’s decision and it had to happen. I have never loved her. Even she knows that. That I never stopped loving you.”

She was going even more down and feeling the eyes of curious eavesdroppers around. “I am tired. Really. Can we settle this another time, please? All of this is… too much.”

“I will take you home.”

“No, I’ll go myself.”

“But we will meet again, right?”

“Yes, we will. I guess there is no other chance.” She rushed out the tea shop and apparated to her house immediately. Even climbing the stairs to bathroom felt like a long way and she threw herself to bed, burying herself in her dreams to imagine everything the way she would like it to be.


	3. Good Old Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback to Hogwarts years of Lucius and Alice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> I hope you are enjoying the story. Here is a little flashback to Hogwarts years. I will be adding these flashbacks among contemporary chapters from time to time.

Lily’s soft hands were moving through her hair. It was known that she made the best and the most stylish braids. All the girls would line up to get their hair done in Gryffindor Tower by her but of course Alice Prewett had priority as her best friend. After her friend had finished she would adorn her raven hair with flower buds and make all seasons look like spring.

“I love your thick locks Alice. I wish mine were the same as yours.”

“Oh, c’mon. Even though Potter dies for your red ones?”

“Ew, don’t even mention that toerag. Hearing his name makes me feel nauseous.” They both giggled and made their way down to the common room. It was always so loud and noisy there. Gryffindors were known with their courage, chivalry and all sorts of good things but they should have added chattering and mischief to the list also. Especially because of infamous Potter and Black. Those two arrogant bastards were under the impression that their jinxes and pranks were so funny and lady magnet. But of course, not the ladies they sought to be with. James’ crush on Lily was obvious to everybody and he would never spend time with any other lady. Sirius’ crush on Alice was also well known however he couldn’t be considered devoted, since he didn’t give any effort to keep himself from other ladies. But in the end he’d always end up at her feet despite being rejected more than a hundred times.

“Do you think that it’ll be possible to avoid Black and Potter?” said Alice as if she was going to cry out of misery.

“Only if they are dead or stuck in troll bogey.”

They looked at each other for a moment and they both knew what to say. “Dead, it is.” But of course, all their hope was in vain when they caught the glimpse of two boys laying down on the couch, invading a lot more space than they needed. They jumped from their seats the moment they realized who were coming down.

“Hello ladies!” both exclaimed.

“Move aside, Black.”

“Oh, c’mon Prewett. You aren’t even gonna say good morning?”

“How can it be a good morning with you in it?”

Sirius pretended to be sad, observed by jealous eyes of girls around them. It was true to everybody that he was charming yet he was a jerk and a bully, just like his mate James Potter. Neither Lily nor Alice had interest in either of the boys. They weren’t interested in any of them actually. It was their fifth year and as the years had passed the boys became worse. Alice gazed at Lily and she saw her dealing with same kind of disturbance from Potter yet eventually they managed to escape.

“I cannot believe they are able to be so annoying. Is that even possible?” Lily exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

“Worse thing is that they are stupid enough not to understand that their slimy behaviour is why we don’t even want to be around them.”

Lily nodded at this remark and they made their way to the Great Hall. The corridors felt longer than usual in the mornings due to their grumbling stomachs. When they finally got there, they took their seats next to Frank Longbottom and his beau Alice Crouch, Marlene McKinnon and Alice’s older brother Fabian. Fabian was her only sibling attending to Hogwarts along with her. Molly was 13 years older and she was already married with Arthur Weasley and had graduated from Hogwarts long time ago. Her other brother Gideon was 6 years older and he also had graduated and employed at the ministry as an auror. A profession which Alice and Fabian were also aspiring for.

“It is nice to see that you were able to escape Black and Potter’s invasion quicker this morning.” remarked Alice Crouch. Lily’s rolling eyes were back at the scene.

“Don’t even ask please, they are like vermin. I hope we can get rid of them before they spread the plague.” Everyone laughed and they were about to dig in delicious breakfast in front of them the moment Fabian poked Alice’s arm.

“What’s it?”

“Looks like Black’s attention isn’t the only one you caught.” He was pointing someone whose eyes were fixed on her from Slytherin table. She turned at that direction and was surprised to meet Lucius Malfoy’s blue-grey eyes. He turned his head to the other side the moment they came eye to eye but she had enough opportunity to see the deep interest in his focused eyes. She was startled but wanted to shrug it off as a coincidence.

“Don’t be silly. What can Lucius Malfoy have to do with me? I am not even in his year.”

“Really? Then why has he been staring at you from the moment you entered the hall? Plus, it was the same yesterday.”

“Are you checking on those who spy on me?” she teased him playfully.

“No but as your older brother I take it as my duty to watch over you. And that sneaky over there is someone you should keep yourself away from.”

“Ah, please Fabian. I don’t care about him or anyone from their house. Chill out.”

“Yeah? But Lily here is hanging out with Severus Snape and as far as I am concerned he is close with Malfoy.”

As she was included in the conversation Lily decided to contribute rather than eavesdropping.

“Oh, Fabian, you really are paranoid. Severus is my friend for ages and Lucius Malfoy is laying his eyes on Alice, so what? Everybody does. She is a beauty.”

“Preach it sister.”

“Whatever, just be careful.”

* * *

He couldn’t help but stare at her beautiful figure the moment she entered the Great Hall. He thought even that mudblood next to her couldn’t spoil the way she walked, smoky look in her beautiful dark brown eyes and her raven her flowing on her shoulders. It was a delightful scene to watch and he could enjoy it forever. She was a year older yet they were taking potions together. Professor Slughorn was sure that she could skip to more advanced potion making without bothering with 5th year’s class. She was both beautiful and clever and also, she was a pureblood. He had seen it several times before but not until he heard her lovely voice in the class, the way she spoke, the way she chose her words he couldn’t imagine to have something with her. He wanted her with such a huge passion and there haven’t been many things that he wasn’t able to get after he wanted to and why wouldn’t she like him? He was pureblood, rich, handsome and was heir to an immense fortune. All the girls in Slytherin house were after him, especially Narcissa Black who ended up at his feet whenever she could, much to his dislike.

He was deep in his thoughts and in her beauty the moment her eyes met his and it was a cue to wake up. He turned his head to the other side immediately. He didn’t want her to know how he was into her. He wasn’t supposed to keep his eyes on someone like this, the girls would be the ones not being able to keep their eyes off him. But it was an exciting moment which made all the blood in his body rush to his heart and brain. He was scared that it would be visible yet his self-control was beyond measure.

“I didn’t know you were into Alice.” a voice noted from his right.

“She is… a lovely sight, Severus.”

“I could introduce you if you want.”

“Introduce me? Well, I don’t need if there are any introductions needed. You can introduce her to me maybe. But when the mudblood isn’t around, please. I can’t believe you actually hangout with one of them. It is disgusting Severus.”

“I have known her for a long time. She is a good friend.”

“I hope that’s the only thing she is for you.”

“You are aware that some see the Prewetts as blood-traitors, right?”

“Yes, but they are a pureblood family still.” he stopped for a moment. “And she cannot be perfect in every way.” he was almost whispering. Severus’ expression was full of surprise.

“Merlin’s beard, Lucius! You have fallen head over heels for her!”

“Don’t be daft Snape. I haven’t even had a proper conversation with her, _yet_.” Severus smirked and went on eating as Lucius glanced once more at Alice. Yet simple glances were starting to feel inadequate.

* * *

Next day was finally the day for potions and a chance to get closer to her. Only one month had passed since the school started and he already knew that she would be coming 5 minutes before the class. So, he did the same and walked towards the seat beside her. She was deep in her books already and seemed to have detached herself from her surroundings. She looked so dreamy.

“May I?” Alice turned her head to the direction of unexpected voice. There he stood, Lucius Malfoy. She was both surprised and panicked. She remembered her brother’s words immediately. Since her parents had passed her brothers and her sister were the ones parenting her and she was used to listen their advices. But now she didn’t know how to say no. His voice was deep and calm and his smell was enchanting. Plus, it would probably be rude to reject a classmate.

“Yes, sure.” she smiled at him. She took his seat next to her and it felt so good to be this close to her, to have a correspondence.

“You are actually at 5th grade, right?” She felt ashamed of that.

“Yes. Is it that obvious?”

“Oh, no. Just because I know everyone else here but you. Even though you aren’t hard to notice.” Now, she was sure that Fabian was right. He was already charming her with compliments. Just the moment they met. She was afraid that he would realize the pinkish colour of her cheeks. She was used to get such compliments from Sirius Black and would probably insult him or ignore him for that but now she found herself feeling excited and anxious at the same time. Was she finding him attractive? It was impossible. Lucius Malfoy was almost as much of a jerk as Black was and moreover he was a pureblood supremacist. There was no way in the world that she would find him attractive. He deserved to be treated worse than Black.

She said “Thanks.” and turned her head away. This was unexpected for him. Girls would immediately be impressed by him the moment they started to talk. But he wasn’t one to give up.

“So, your name is Alice, right? Alice Prewett? I know your brother Fabian. He is at his 7th year, right?” of course, he knew Fabian but apparently didn’t leave a good impression on him. She wished that her brother never said anything to her about him. Then she wouldn’t be stressed and hesitant now. At least not this much.

“Yes, both are correct. You are Lucius, right? Lucius Malfoy.” She caught the smirk on his face after she pronounced his name. He really must love himself so much, she thought.

“His very self.” He smirked with a wink. She was more pissed off than shy now.

“Well, he doesn’t sound humble.”

“Should he be?” she actually thought about it. ‘Should he be?’. He was quite handsome, she couldn’t deny it and she also knew that she was talented at magic and one of the best students of his year. She was happy when Slughorn entered before she could give an answer. He still had that smirk on his face which made him look even more attractive than he already was. That made her smile, too and it couldn’t manage to escape his eye.


	4. Options

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice thinks about her relationship and past with Lucius. She questions her decisions.

Auror department was mostly calm and had been dealing with smaller issues since the demise of Voldemort. Most of the Death Eaters were caught and since they had seen worse, rest were a piece of cake for these highly talented witches and wizards. Despite being deeply devoted to her profession and being one of the best aurors the ministry had ever seen, Alice was never able to turn Lucius in. Malfoys had escaped punishment claiming to be under imperious curse during the whole war however Alice knew that this wasn’t true. Neither she could arrest him nor she had let anyone close to her turn him in to the ministry. She couldn’t let her son’s father to be in Azkaban no matter what, even though it was unfair. Moreover, despite rejecting Lucius’ every single offer she still had a glimpse of hope in her that they might be together some day. Her sister Molly and her brother-in-law Arthur tried to introduce her to a great number of wizards so that she could start a new life but it never worked. She couldn’t stand marrying anyone else while her heart belonged to Lucius still. Of course, she had a few boyfriends and affairs but these were nothing more than temporary means of relieving herself from time to time. Comforting her emotional and physical needs. There was already a great deal of men at her feet. She wasn’t beautiful and clever only, but also, she was famous in her own way due to her success at work.

On the other hand, it was still difficult to be a single mother. She would leave Damien to Molly’s care at times however poor Molly already had seven children of her own. She had always been scared to hire babysitters, she was never able to leave her baby to the care of unknown women. She knew that this was because of her job, seeing so many horrible things happening all around the island was making one paranoid. Especially after Lucius’ stance as a Death Eater she was precautious towards everybody and after he married Narcissa. That was the greatest heartbreak for her. She knew that she was the one who broke up with him, she told him that she didn’t want to see him again and never told him about her pregnancy. But still, she didn’t expect him to marry Narcissa Black within a year. Even though she knew that it was because of his father’s pressure since he had to get married and produce an heir to keep Malfoy name among Sacred Twenty-Eight, she still didn’t expect it. At least not within a year. Maybe she would have told him that he already had an heir, their son together. Maybe there could be a chance for her to forgive him. But after the marriage it was impossible. No matter how much she wanted to get back together with him, no matter how hard it was to resist the urge it wasn’t her style to proceed a relationship with a married man. No matter who he was. Yet as his gifts, letters, efforts to reach her have never diminished, she knew that he didn’t think the same. She was against it but the pleasure she was ensnared with, knowing that how much in love was he still with her was indescribable. She would read each of his letters uncountable times and keep them all in drawers which served to that purpose only. She would look at the jewellery he had sent her and imagine how he fantasized about her wearing it. Even after Draco was born, his mind was invaded by her memory.

“Buried in your thoughts again?” she turned back to real world again by her colleague’s voice.

“Yeah, kind of. Just imagining.” She took a sip of her coffee.

“Wanna talk instead?”

“No, Cliff. Thank you. I just need some space.” She always loved his interest and care for her. Cliff Jameson was her closest partner for few years. He was an American who had moved to Britain for certain reasons which were never clear for her. He’d always ask if she was okay or if there was a problem when she looked buried deep in her thoughts or her face changed suddenly. But he was never open about himself. He was slightly older, strands of white hair were visible on his temples. Yet he was still handsome and was able to impress plenty of women with his distinct accent.

“However, you like. Not gonna force you.” She smiled at him and went back to her papers. There were cases of murder, theft, assault but nothing too serious. Murders usually happened among those who aligned themselves with the dark side. By killing each other they were just creating more openings at Azkaban and the only ones they were saddening were the dementors.

She was interrupted again by Cliff’s voice. “So, Alice, are you available for dinner this evening? We can go for Indian. Heard the restaurant across Ollivander’s has mind-boggling biryanis.” She thought he was trying his chance again. Over the years he had countless flirting attempts with her, most of them rejected. She didn’t want to just sleep with him because of their position as colleagues and she was also aware that he aimed more than that. She couldn’t get herself to loving anybody after Lucius, however, after seeing him at the ball and meeting him, she thought that it was unfair. The man was married and he was still together with this woman she despised. Even though he said that he still felt nothing for her and there is nothing between them, they were married still. She thought it can’t be that empty then. Especially when she saw that he was behaving kind enough to her, at least to keep the marriage going on. Plus, for sure he was going to her bad at times. Suddenly she was ensnared with jealousy.

“Yes, sure. I’d like to. It has been a while since we have been out together.”

A warm smile settled on Cliff’s face. “That wasn’t what I expected but I am glad your answer was… unexpected.”

“Sometimes unpredictable is the best, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is a bit shorter but it was supposed to be like this. I am going to add a new one soon :)


End file.
